Archive for the ‘Charity’ Category

Winter is slowly coming to an end, and many of us might miss the cosy nights in bed, hot cups of tea and warm layers of woollies. For those sleeping rough, however, winter living is often far less rosy. After a brush with youth homelessness himself, entrepreneur Jamie Green founded One Night Stand to do what he could to help those in a similar situation. The profit-for-purpose business now crafts products for you to ‘sleep in, sleep on and strip off’ with all proceeds going towards youth homelessness initiatives, including Open Family Australia and STREAT. “You purchase something to make your sleep more comfortable but at the same time help someone else sleep better,” Jamie explains. The new One Night Stand collection has just landed, featuring unisex sloppy joes and pillow slips all using local makers and ethically sourced materials. You can browse and shop the collection here – and keep an eye out for a full sleepwear range launching later in the year!

It is an exciting time for Indigenous Fashion in Australia. The first Indigenous Fashion Week is being held in April next year and Indigenous Fashion Unearthed continues to gain momentum! This month, O’Shirt supports the trend by releasing a limited edition tee in aid of Indigenous Literacy. Internationally-acclaimed Aboriginal artist Bronwyn Bancroft teamed up with O’Shirt to design the tee, inspired by the idea that when ‘one door closes, another one opens.’ Each fortnight, O’Shirt support charities through the sale of limited edition tees, working with a range of designers for a range of causes. A minimum of $7 from every shirt sold goes towards the charity of choice. The proceeds from this design will support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which works to provide access to books and literacy resources to over 200 remote Indigenous communities.

As little as $5 can make a big difference to someone else’s life. The price of a coffee or a beer – that’s enough if everyone pitches in. So what if instead of shouting our mates a drink next time we’re at the pub, we put that money towards Foodbank or the National Breast Cancer Foundation? Shout is a new iPhone app that encourages users to ‘shout’ a donation to a charity of their choice, in the same way they would a drink for a friend. It’s free to download, then once you’ve got it you can make donations of anywhere between $5 and $150 in just a few clicks. There are a host of non-profit organisations covered, including Lighthouse Foundation and Kids Under Cover. It’s low-cost for them, and easy for you. New organisations can be added at any time – like if there’s a disaster or urgent need. When you Shout a donation, you’ll receive a Cheers back, which you can share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word. Download the app from the iTunes App store or Google Play, or visit the Shout For Good website to find out more.

This winter, Sydney label Banjo & Matilda are teaming up with Mission Australia to make a difference to the lives of homeless women. Running until August 12th, the Sweater Exchange invites you to give your pre-loved sweaters directly to women in need – even offering courier options to pick up your parcels. Each year almost 46,000 Australian women find themselves homeless, and while the number of men is decreasing, homelessness among women is on the rise. A mix of high profile celebrities are also getting behind this important cause, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Miranda Kerr and Ruby Rose. Each celebrity is donating one (or more!) of their pre-loved jumpers, which will be on display at a Banjo & Matilda pop up shop in Sydney’s MLC centre this month. You can also get involved in the social media conversation by using the hashtag #sweaterexchange on Twitter or Instagram. This also might be a great time to complete your winter #Assignmint too!

Let’s admit it: online shopping can be fun. And addictive. Seeing all those glorious things you didn’t know you needed, realising you definitely need them, filling and editing your cart, then paying for it all with those deliciously immaterial credit card dollars that seem to never run out. Problem is, once the transaction is complete, we tend to forget about it (though our bank balance doesn’t). Then some parcel from the other side of the world turns up a few weeks later, containing garments often significantly less exciting than they seemed at 1am that Sunday night last month when you couldn’t sleep. So how do we quit this cycle? How do we stop buying all this stuff we don’t need? My personal tip is to just cut off the last step of the whole transaction: the actual checkout part. Fill as many shopping carts as you fancy – it’s more than likely you’re not going to remember, or regret, abandoning them come morning. Another (better) idea? Shop til you drop at Rana Plaza, a site named in memorial to the Bangladeshi factory where more than 1,100 textile workers were killed when the building collapsed in April. You can spend all you want on clothes, shoes and accessories – you just won’t be sent anything. Instead, everything you ‘buy’ will go towards ActionAid‘s work aiding victims and their families and ensuring rights and safety for some of the world’s most poorly paid workers. In this case, we say buy up big!

Last week, Melbourne enjoyed a taste of conscious fashion when the Red Cross teamed up with the Whitehouse School of Design to deliver Cross Conscious: an event to raise awareness of their 140 Red Thread stores nationwide. Third year design students, along with local designers, exhibited everything from street style to high end fashion, including upcycled streetwear in homage to urban, edgy, Melburnian style. The event also offered music, art and DJs, and guests had the opportunity to snap up some bargains for themselves at the ‘Thread Shed’, a one off boutique pop up with upcycled, vintage and designer pieces. Godwin Charli, Olga de Polga and Ameca Calleja were just some of the designers to take part.

While a lot of fundraising gets done from behind computer screens these days, there is another way to raise money for a great cause and experience a little taste of adventure at the same time! The UNHCR is organising a Mount Kilimanjaro Climb for Refugees, slated for November 24 this year, and the scout for participants is already on. The trek to the top of Africa’s highest mountain is all in the name of raising money for the UNHCR’s Emergency Response Program, which responds to refugee crises all over the world. Each participant in the climb is required to raise $4,000 for the UNHCR – money that goes directly to helping those fleeing conflict, famine and natural disaster. If traversing ice fields, trekking through pine forests and climbing glaciers to raise some dollars for a good cause sounds like you, then visit the Inspired Adventures website for more information and enrollments.

Iconic Sydney label Bassike is one of a number of high profile designers to show their support for the Sydney Children’s Hospital premier annual fundraising campaign, the Gold Telethon. Bassike, which produces locally and is well known for its use of sustainable materials, has teamed up with Marquise to create a line of limited edition baby bodysuits. The aim of the partnership is to raise over $20,000, with 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the bodysuits being donated directly to the hospital. The bodysuits are available from online store The Iconic throughout the months of May and June and are available in sizes 000-0 for tots. Check them out online to support this worthy cause!

While giving a little every day might be something we endeavour to practice in our daily lives, there’s no harm in having these values gently reminded to us with International Pay It Forward Day on April 25. To help you get involved, Australian-based online marketplace Andable are making things easy by pairing up with micro-loan initiative Kiva. 10% of every sale made by Andable will be paid forward on your behalf to Kiva, helping support small businesses and up-starters all over the world. With products from Be Genki, Bamboo Village, Ties and Whimsy and a whole host more, Andable is a veritable conscious-shopper heaven. While you’re there, check out Andable’s clever ‘FRESH’ guide to purchases which gives every item in store a code – Fair trade, Reborn, Eco-friendly, Supports local business and Handmade – so that you know exactly what you’re buying.

What does your bike mean to you? For those of us in the Western world, it’s a convenient way to get from A to B with exercise and environmental and social benefits thrown in. But in countries where the non-wealthy have little access to cars, bicycles double as taxis or even ambulances. Journalist and filmmaker Bojun Bjorkman-Chiswell is travelling the world to document the stories of our planet’s billion bicycles, raising awareness for bike users and uncovering extraordinary tales in the process – such as that of the bike ambulance driver in Zambia who is yet to be paid for his 20-hour-day efforts, or the unfortunate reality of the choking pollution in all the cities she’s visited so far. Bojun’s project is self-funded, but she’s asking for your help to keep the wheels spinning. You can view the videos she’s created so far and chip in to help her keep the cause going through Pozible here. You can also vote for One Billion Bicycles in the Cycling Visionaries awards here.